Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

"Scholar Chen, how dare you bring this up? If it weren't for your greed for credit and recklessness, you would have almost killed my daughter!"

Chen Guangrui's expression changed.

"Prime Minister, you are mistaken! The wind and waves on the river that day..."

"shut up!"

Yin Kaishan roared angrily.

"I have investigated the truth. In your eagerness to reach Chang'an first, you disregarded the boatman's advice and forced your way across the river, causing the boat to capsize. If it weren't for Young Master Lin's rescue, my daughter would have already perished in the river!"

Lin Zhu was taken aback. He had indeed saved a woman who had fallen into the river, but he did not know that she was the Prime Minister's daughter.

Chen Guangrui's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"Your Excellency is wise; there was indeed a storm that day."

"roll!"

Yin Kaishan flicked his sleeves.

"I will report this matter to the Emperor at the morning court tomorrow, and see if you can still be the top scholar! Guards, throw this fellow out!"

Two cultivators dressed in Taoist robes walked out of the mansion and lifted Chen Guangrui up from the left and right.

Chen Guangrui wanted to argue, but when he saw one of the cultivators making hand seals and chanting incantations, he immediately froze and couldn't speak.

"Throw it far away, don't dirty the threshold of my Prime Minister's residence."

Yin Kaishan said coldly.

Two cultivators carried Chen Guangrui to the street corner and tossed him aside.

Chen Guangrui fell heavily onto the bluestone slab, wincing in pain.

By the time he recovered, the gates of the Prime Minister's residence were already closed, and the crowd of onlookers had dispersed.

"hateful!"

Chen Guangrui slammed his fist into the ground.

"I studied hard for ten years and finally became the top scholar, only to have my opportunity stolen by a country scholar!"

He staggered to his feet, a fierce glint in his eyes.

"No, I can't just let this go. I've heard that golden carp are often sold at the south market. If I could get some..."

Thinking of this, Chen Guangrui straightened his clothes and walked quickly towards the south of the city.

Inside the Prime Minister's residence, Xiao Qiong leaned against the door, watching Chen Guangrui's departing figure through the crack in the door, a mischievous smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

"Miss, what are you laughing at?"

The maidservant standing nearby asked curiously.

"nothing."

Xiao Qiong turned around.

"I suddenly have a craving for fish. Go tell the kitchen that I want steamed carp tonight."

"Yes, ma'am."

The maid responded and retreated.

Xiao Qiong's eyes gleamed with cunning as she spoke softly.

"Golden carp. I can't let you beat me to it, Scholar Chen."

She vanished into thin air in a flash.

The Chengnan vegetable market was bustling with activity, with various vendors calling out their wares.

Chen Guangrui weaved through the crowd, his eyes constantly scanning the various fish stalls.

"The golden carp. We must find the golden carp."

He muttered to himself.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Ahead at a fish stall, a fisherman was hawking a gleaming golden carp.

"Freshly caught golden carp! A rare find, first come, first served!"

Just as Chen Guangrui was about to step forward, he saw a petite figure already standing in front of the stall.

"Uncle, I'll take this fish."

A clear, crisp female voice rang out.

Chen Guangrui took a closer look and his expression changed drastically. It was clearly Xiao Qiong, the young lady from the Prime Minister's mansion!

When the fisherman saw that she was a pretty young girl, his eyes narrowed into slits with a smile.

"Young lady, you have a good eye. This fish is very rare. I'll give you a discount."

"Thank you, uncle!"

Xiao Qiong smiled sweetly and took out some silver from her purse.

Chen Guangrui rushed forward in one stride.

"Wait! I want this fish!"

The fisherman and Xiao Qiong turned to look at him at the same time. Xiao Qiong's eyes were filled with sarcasm as he feigned surprise.

"Oh my, isn't this Scholar Chen? What's wrong? The Prime Minister's residence isn't giving you food, so you have to buy fish to fill your stomach?"

Chen Guangrui's face turned ashen.

"Miss Yin, this fish is very important to me, please give it to me."

"Why?"

Xiao Qiong tilted her head.

"I arrived first and have already paid."

Chen Guangrui gritted his teeth and pulled out a stack of silver notes from his pocket.

"I'll pay double the price!"

The fisherman looked at the silver note, then at Xiao Qiong, and hesitated.

"Young master, business is about integrity. The fish has already been sold to this young lady."

"three times!"

Chen Guangrui increased his bets.

Xiao Qiong snorted coldly.

"Scholar Chen has quite the grand gesture, but..."

She turned to the fisherman.

"Uncle, I really want this fish. Could you clean it for me now?"

The fisherman was moved by Xiao Qiong's pitiful appearance and nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, okay, I'll kill the fish and remove the scales for you right away."

As he spoke, he was about to take action.

Seeing this, Chen Guangrui became very anxious and grabbed the fisherman's wrist.

"Stop! You can't kill this fish!"

The fisherman was in pain from being gripped so tightly and shouted angrily.

"What's wrong with you? The fish is mine, I can do whatever I want with it!"

People gradually gathered around to watch the spectacle.

Chen Guangrui realized he had lost his composure, so he quickly let go of her hand and lowered his voice.

"Brother, to be honest, I am Chen Guangrui, the newly appointed top scholar. This fish is of great use to my cultivation. Please sell it to me."

"One hundred thousand taels! I'll offer one hundred thousand taels for this fish!"

Chen Guangrui pulled out several silver notes from his sleeve, which gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight.

A confident smile played on his lips as he stared intently at the golden carp in the fishing net.

Passersby gasped in surprise, and several vendors abandoned their stalls to squeeze over and watch the spectacle.

"Good heavens! Ten thousand taels for a fish? Has this top scholar gone mad?"

"What do you know? I've heard that this kind of golden carp is auspicious, and eating it can prolong your life!"

The fisherman didn't even lift his eyelids. He gently stroked the fish with his rough hands and turned to smile at the little girl standing beside him.

"Little girl, you just said you wanted to buy this fish?"

"Ok!"

Xiao Qiong nodded vigorously, took out a piece of silver from her purse, and raised her little hand high.

"Uncle, this is all I have, is it enough?"

In the sunlight, the little girl's delicate face was flushed, and her big, watery eyes were full of anticipation.

Her smile was like a spring breeze brushing across the ice, making even the air feel sweet.

"Enough! How could it not be enough!"

The fisherman laughed heartily and accepted the silver ingot, which was worth at most two taels.

"This fish is yours!"

Chen Guangrui's face instantly turned ashen.

"You old fool! Are you blind? I'll offer 100,000 taels!"

"One hundred thousand taels?"

The fisherman finally looked up, his cloudy eyes filled with disdain.

"Even if it costs a million taels, I will only sell this fish to this little girl."

"Why?!"

Chen Guangrui's forehead veins bulged.

The fisherman slowly put the fish into the bamboo basket that Xiao Qiong handed him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Because she's cute."

A burst of laughter erupted around them, and several middle-aged women nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! Who could resist such an adorable little girl!"

"Old Li did the right thing!"

"So what if the top scholar is rich?"

Chen Guangrui was so angry that he trembled all over and suddenly slapped the jade belt at his waist.

"Insolence! I am the newly appointed top scholar, a sixth-rank Hanlin scholar! You unruly commoner!"

"The top pick?"

The fisherman picked at his ear, then turned to Xiao Qiong and asked, "Girl, is your brother's surname Lin?"

Xiao Qiong was squatting on the ground, curiously poking at the carp, when she heard this, she looked up.

"Yes, my brother's name is Lin Zhu."

The fisherman gave Chen Guangrui a meaningful look.

"No wonder Lord Lin's sister is so intelligent."

Chen Guangrui swallowed the rest of his words back, like a rooster being choked.

Of course he knew Lin Zhu, that monster whom even the current prime minister had to treat with deference.

The last time someone offended his sister, the whole family moved to the Western Regions the next day, and it is said that they cried all the way there.

"Me, me"

Chen Guangrui's forehead was covered in cold sweat, yet he stared at the carp with resentment.

The immortal in my dream clearly said that at noon today at the Hongjiang ferry, there would be a golden carp, which would be his opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul stage!
The fisherman had already taken out his fish-killing knife, the gleaming blade aimed at the carp's throat.

"Girl, do you want me to clean the fish for you?"

The carp suddenly began to struggle violently, its golden scales reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight.

The Dragon King of Hongjiang was terrified. He had only come ashore to play during the flood season, how could he have imagined being caught in a mortal's net? What was even more terrifying was that the seemingly harmless little girl was actually exuding the aura of the Ancestral Dragon that made him tremble!
"No, don't kill it!"

Xiao Qiong suddenly grabbed the fisherman's wrist.

It looks like it's crying.

Indeed, two glistening tears rolled down the carp's eyes.

The fisherman was stunned.

"This"

"Amitabha."

Suddenly, a Buddhist chant rang out, and before everyone's eyes, a woman in white appeared standing in front of the stall.

She held a vase, a dot of cinnabar between her brows, and was enveloped in a faint halo.

"Guanyin Bodhisattva?"

Someone exclaimed and knelt down.

Chen Guangrui was overjoyed and knelt down with a thud.

"Bodhisattva, save me! This fish is mine!"

Guanyin gently raised her hand to stop him from speaking and said softly to the fisherman.

“Benefactor, this fish is destined for me. Would you be willing to part with it? I am willing to offer two hundred thousand taels of silver.”

The crowd gasped. The fisherman, however, frowned.

"Even the Bodhisattva believes in the principle of first come, first served. This fish has already been sold to the little girl."

Guanyin smiled slightly, and a drop of nectar condensed from her fingertip.

"This is the celestial dew of the Jade Pool, which can extend one's life by ten years."

The fisherman's knife remained completely still.

"Not for sale."

"you!"

Guanyin frowned slightly.

"This fish is related to a significant cause and effect."

"I don't care about cause and effect."

The fisherman held his knife horizontally.

"What I promised the child, I can't go back on my word, not even if the Emperor himself comes to tow!"

Xiao Qiong blinked and suddenly tugged at Guanyin's sleeve.

"Sister, you're so pretty, but this fish is so pitiful, could you please not eat it?"

The sound of "sister" made Guanyin sway, and she almost lost her solemn appearance.

She looked down into the little girl's clear eyes and was speechless for a moment.

The fisherman seized the opportunity and swiftly brought down his knife.

"Don't worry, little girl, your uncle is skilled and won't let it suffer."

"stop!!"

Three voices sounded at the same time.

Chen Guangrui's face was ashen. The Guanyin Jade Bottle tilted, and Xiao Qiong instinctively reached out to block it.
"puff!"

Blood splattered.

But it's not a carp.

At the critical moment, the carp unexpectedly crashed into the blade, its tail slamming hard against the fisherman's wrist.

The blade deflected, slicing off only one fish fin.

"what?"

Xiao Qiong watched in surprise as the golden carp broke free of the bamboo basket and leaped into the air.

Even more miraculously, instead of bleeding from the wound on the fin, wisps of golden mist emerged.

Guanyin's expression changed drastically, and the jade bottle suddenly burst forth with light.

"not good!"

The carp flicked its tail in mid-air, transforming into a golden light that shot straight towards Xiao Qiong's brow! The little girl closed her eyes in fright, but felt a cool sensation on her forehead; the pain she had imagined did not come.

She peeked open one eye and saw the fish hovering in front of her, its mouth opening and closing as if it were speaking.

"The bloodline of the Ancestral Dragon has finally been found."

Xiao Qiong blankly reached out her hand, and the carp obediently landed in her palm. The golden mist at the wound gradually condensed into a piece of crystal scales.

"This, this is."

Chen Guangrui slumped to the ground, the opportunity in his dream just gone, taken by a little girl.
Guanyin sighed and put away the jade bottle.

"The cycle of cause and effect is indeed beyond human control. Chen Guangrui, your destiny with the Dragon Palace has not yet arrived; you cannot force it."

The fisherman's rough fingers traced the scales of the golden carp, and the moment the blade cut into the fish's belly, a scalding golden liquid sprayed onto his face.

"Hiss, why is this fish blood as hot as boiling water?"

The middle-aged man wiped his face, looked at the golden liquid shimmering in his palm, and frowned.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was blazing overhead.

"I'm afraid the weather is too hot, and the fish blood has been scalded by the sun."

He shook his head and continued with his work.

The sound of the fish knife cutting open the fish's belly was exceptionally clear on the quiet riverbank. The fish blood dripped onto the wooden board, making a slight "sizzling" sound, like a red-hot iron block being immersed in water.

Not far away, Guanyin Bodhisattva's jade vase trembled slightly.

She gazed at the gutted golden carp, her eyes filled with pity.

"What a tragedy!"

Guanyin sighed softly, her fair hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the willow branch.

"This is no carp, it is clearly the incarnation of the Dragon King of the East Sea."

She turned to look at Chen Guangrui, who was slumped on the riverbank. This top scholar, who should have become the father of Jin Chanzi, now had lifeless eyes and was muttering to himself.

"My opportunity. My great opportunity."

"Donor Chen."

Guanyin stepped forward, her voice as gentle as a clear spring.

"It's just a fish, why bother so much?"

Chen Guangrui suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot.

"A fish? You don't understand, Buddha! That's my chance to change my destiny!"

He suddenly grabbed Guanyin's sleeve, his voice trembling.

"And Wen Jiao... she was snatched away by that white-robed immortal!"

"what?"

Guanyin's expression changed drastically, and the willow branch in her hand snapped with a "crack".

"Who do you think stole Yin Wenjiao away?"

"It's that Lin Zhu!"

Chen Guangrui shouted hysterically.

"He was dressed in white, with a little maid, and took Wen Jiao away! They said they were going to have a wedding ceremony!"

Guanyin felt a sudden dizziness, and after calculating with her fingers, her face turned deathly pale.

"How could it be that neither the Buddha nor the sages foresaw this calamity?"

She suddenly looked up and gazed in the direction of Chang'an City.

"Yin Wenjiao and Lin Zhu have already gone through the wedding ceremony?"

Just then, a silvery voice came from the side.

"Sister Bodhisattva, would you like to eat fish?"

Guanyin turned her head and saw Xiao Qiong holding a golden carp by the tail, waving it innocently.

The fish blood dripped onto the ground, scorching small pits into the bluestone slab.

"you!"

Guanyin's chest heaved violently as she pointed at Xiaoqiong and shouted sternly.

"Didn't I tell you not to leave Lin Zhu's side?"

Xiao Qiong tilted her head, looking confused.

"But my master asked me to buy fish."

She shook the fish in her hand.

"The uncle said this is the last golden carp. Sister Bodhisattva, would you like to share half with me?"

"presumptuous!"

Guanyin roared angrily, her body radiating a burst of Buddhist light, but she suddenly deflated when she saw Xiao Qiong's pure and innocent eyes.

She suppressed her anger. (End of Chapter)